Buzz Buys: Rhea Ripley, Hammerin' Hank, throwback publicity, un-corrected errors, vintage, movies, mags, comics, & more

Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... 

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HER TIME IS NOW ... 
The Cards: Rhea Ripley 2020 Topps Transcendent WWE (/50) -- Rookie Card
The Price: Less than some of your new boxes out there
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This one is more of a long-term buying project for me as I think Ripley has the potential to be an all-time great in the WWE's women's ranks. She's only 26 and has literally been wrestling half of her life, already has held WWE gold and this is her premium-brand Rookie Card (gaming cards don't count in my world) that has an iconic pose and is limited to only 50 copies. This one also is easily among the priciest of the unsigned cards in this pricey set that was made to be broken up. Only three of these are new additions for me but I had to take a pic of all five together as a bit of a brag -- I don't do that a lot and I don't like to give the prices when I spend big on stuff -- but this is a card I like ... and I'm definitely not done yet. She has other Rookie Cards (with logos ... this set didn't use them) from 2020 but this one will always be the best in my book and we know exactly how many exist and that it cost plenty for somebody else to land one. She's got another WrestleMania match against an all-time great, Charlotte Flair, here soon and I don't know exactly how that might go ... but I do know she's definitely worthy of a long and dominating title reign and a smackdown of a great would solidify her place. I think her time is now.
Grab a box right here: WWE boxes can be found here

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

HAMMERIN' HANK
The Card: Hank Aaron 2020 Topps Brooklyn Collection Black parallel (/75)
The Price: Under $6
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I grade a lot of stuff these days and I like to mix in rarer or oddball cards of big names from time to time and the sets that use thick stock like this tend to grade pretty well. That and the price here are big reasons I grabbed this card of the former home run king. There are a lot of affordable Aaron cards out there and we're coming up on the 5oth anniversary of Nos. 714 and 715 and then 755 will be not long after that. I don't think anniversaries will spark a run on anything ... but there should be more cardboard reminding us of all that, especially with Topps Heritage, coming soon. 
Grab a box right here: MLB boxes can be found here

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ALTERNTIVE FLOW
The Card: Bo Bichette 2022 Topps 206 Wave 2 photo variation (announced /200)
The Price: $12
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I didn't need this one -- actually I didn't realize it existed until recently -- but when I saw it I knew I'd be grabbing it. Why? I casually collect Bichette and this card is a colorful and interesting one that's in contrast of the typical T206 homage cards that can be pretty stiff. I've ripped a few boxes of that brand in recent years and have picked up some other Bichettes, too, but this one is perhaps the best of the bunch.
Grab a box right here: MLB boxes can be found here

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A NATIONAL LEAGUE OF HER OWN
The Card: Penny Marshall 2013 Panini Golden Age National Convention stamped parallel (/5)
The Price: About $8.50
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This show promo is simple -- just a base card with a stamp -- but that simple touch makes this card a lot more interesting due to its scarcity. Marshall was a long-time TV and movie icon and creator who also was a big sports memorabilia collector and her appearances here and in a few other brands were popular at their arrival, especially when inked. A League Of Their Own is just one of her memorable creations. I had the ink here and at this price I couldn't pass this one up. 
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TWO OF A KIND
The Cards: A.J. McCarron 2014 Topps Chrome STS Camo Refractor Rookie Autographs (/99) & 2014 Topps Museum Collection  Jumbo Patch Autographs (/35)
The Price: About $15 total
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This former Alabama Crimson Tide star is one who will always have a presence there even if his NFL career has essentially been one of the deep-clipboard backup turned XFL guy. (No, I'm not scouting thinking he's going for stardom there ... but some good cards might surface on cardboard with some good play.) I picked off tons of his stuff back in the day when cheap, though now I'm just picking up cheaper patch cards and ink. Both of these were on-card autos with low volume for a decent price.
Grab a box right here: NFL boxes can be found here

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TWO ODDBALLS
The Cards: Randall Cunningham 1993 Action Packed Quarterback Club Braille & 1990 Topps Tiffany
The Price: About $3.50 total
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This guy is one I collected hard back in the day -- at least while he was a Philadelphia Eagles star -- and these two are classics that never saw back then. Action Packed cards of him were always favorites but this one is different as it's a special card with a message in braille on the back (see right). Meanwhile, the other card is one that I never saw back then and I think many might not even realize exists as Topps Tiffany NFL wasn't exactly the kind of everyday item. (Just like the baseball sets, it's high-gloss, white-stock printing of the basic set -- a premium price then with a low volume made for the time.)
Grab a box right here: NFL boxes can be found here

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REMEMBER ME?
The Card: Michael Ynoa 2008 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Chrome Blue Refractor Autographs (/150)
The Price: $2.95
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This card is a fun reminder of how "can't-miss" certainly can and often will when it comes to prospecting. This card is an uncorrected error as a lot of his stuff at first were as "Inoa" reflecting his MLB paperwork but if you look at his autograph it's "Ynoa." He was a much-hyped player but you'd probably never see why based on the stat sheet -- even in MiLB -- and his final stats in MLB as a reliever include two wins in two seasons with the White Sox -- a 4.42 ERA in 45 goes and 53 Ks in 59 innings for the career. It took him eight years after this card to make it to The Show, too. I'll pick off his interesting stuff here and there if it's interesting for the price. Why? Just because I was around back then watching everybody else spend big for his stuff.
Grab a box right here: MLB boxes can be found here

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A ROOKIE CAMEO
The Card: Roger Maris on 1958 Topps Cleveland Indians team card
The Price: $9.99
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Third row, third guy (two across from the suit) ... 61 home runs in 1961 ... but just a rookie for Cleveland here. Maris' RC is pricey but a clean copy of this team card isn't -- at least in comparison -- and I grabbed it. Sure it's got wear but a lot of these checklists got checked back then. This one did not. I need to find more of these ... maybe in a slab.
Grab a box right here: MLB boxes can be found here

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EARLY PUBLICITY
The Item: John Johnson 1972 Cleveland Cavaliers team promo photo 
The Price: $18
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Old print photos from teams are not the easiest of finds for some sports when they get this old but this is one I had not even seen before and couldn't pass up. The markings here are in some old grease pencil -- in theory it could rub off but I stopped before I could do any damage to the paper. It had a red circle around his name that came off easily leaving some hues but the purple is in marker so that flaw won't be going away. That's a shame as this photo is otherwise very clean and it's his from his second or third season with the team. (He was their first-round pick in 1970 ... the first for the franchise.) Why do I care and why is he here? He's got school ties for me and I'll dabble any time I can if I need it. I have most of his media photos beyond his cards but at this point I'll still grab them all if the price is right.
Grab a box right here: NBA boxes can be found here

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EVEN MORE PUBLICITY
The Items: Mariah Carey 1991 and 1993 Columbia promo photos 
The Price: $8 each
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I've been on a small kick picking up some promo photos in a few genres and these seemed like decent grabs with their prices, their conditions (though the earlier one has some crop marks that won't come off) and considering they're from early in her legendary music career. (Her debut album dropped in mid-1990.) Stuff like this isn't super-easy to find but they're often affordable. They're also not making stuff like this as much any more now -- promotion is done digitally if at all -- so what was made is what was made, though I do guess fakes could be possible if demand gets too high price-wise. My gut says early promo photos in top conditions could make some new markets. (Or are already and are off the radar?) Perhaps even moreso in slabs.
Grab a box right here: Non-sports boxes can be found here

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EVEN MORE RIPLEY
The Cards: Rhea Ripley -- assorted Rookie Cards, Relics parallels inserts and hits. 
The Price: $1 up to $30 for the ink 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This young WWE star has been on my radar for a while -- since the beginning, really -- but I had cooled on picking up her stuff in the last year or so slowing to value-priced hits or numbered stuff really cheap basics beyond the big, big Rookie Card up top. Nothing here is all that pricey and the auto was an affordable find. (That image is not sized properly as that was an image I took before I sent it off to grading and I can't re-shoot it to look better here as it's in a slab ... look for it in Making The Grade soon.) I'm a fan and this is a small sampling of my overall stash.
Grab a box right here: WWE boxes can be found here

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TRIVIA & LESSON TIME ...
The Cards: Lynn Pettis on Gary Pettis' cards -- 1985 Topps Tiffany & 1985 O-Pee-Chee
The Price: More than I want to admit for the Tiffany, $2 for the OPC
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This fun piece of cardboard trivia is one that made it into a slab in my stash for basic Topps version. (Why? For the heck of it.) After that, I decided I'd add the other two versions -- Topps Tiffany (left) and O-Pee-Chee, which is the Canadian counterpart but not a parallel as the card numbers are not the same. What's the deal here? Lynn Pettis is the little brother of the veteran big-leaguer and for whatever reason he happened to be in uniform for the team's photo day despite never playing for the team. He posed for the Topps photographer and the rest is history. It's an oddity and I'll grade these two for the heck of it at some point.
Grab a box right here: MLB boxes can be found here

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I WAS THERE ... WITH FLAIR
The Cards: Ric Flair 2021 Topps WWE Transcendent Collection Ric Flair Tribute (/50)
The Price: $11 each
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This wrestling legend had his own insert set in Transcendent showing memorable moments and I grabbed these three because I was there for all of them. At left, his Hall of Fame induction speech on a Saturday. At center, his final WWE match at WrestleMania 24 on a Sunday. At right, his farewell address to the crowd on Raw on a Monday. Since the prices got pretty affordable -- at least considering the price of the box they came from -- I decided to grab the run with matching serial numbers.
Grab a box right here: WWE boxes can be found here

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LOOK AT THE DETAILS
The Card: Charlotte Flair 2021 Topps Now WWE (/285)
The Price: About $8
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This pick-up is simply because of some top-notch photography where the action is happening and the reactions are seen outside the ring where Flair landed as well as in the ring as the ref is selling the moment, too. With a lot of card sets these days relying on photos cut out in Photoshop for "design," an image like this is just so much stronger for a moment and for showing multiple stars in action. Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H. came up short here both on the card and on the move but they all helped a strong card come to life. Click for a closer look at right if you're inclined.
Grab a box right here: WWE boxes can be found here

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MINI CARD OF A BIG BAT
The Card: Adam Duvall 2016 Topps Heritage High Number Mini (/100) -- Rookie Card parallel 
The Price: About $8
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This guy has had some big power seasons but is apparently so far off the radar that even his RCs didn't get the RC logo this year for whatever reason. I picked this up quite a while back for less than $7 in part since it's a RC parallel but also since the Heritage minis are more of a needle in a haystack kind of card with only 100 copies spread out across all pack formats. I'd like to add more from many years but they're just not as easily found or found on the cheap.
Grab a box right here: MLB boxes can be found here

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INTERNATIONAL ROOKIE CARD
The Cards: Maki Itoh 2018 BBM True Heart -- Rookie Card
The Price: About $20 total
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This Japanese star has a different and consistent look these days vs. what you see here, but this is her Rookie Card and I needed to land one to go with my other pulls and pick-ups. Why the interest? She popped up in AEW and might be around more at any time. At least that seems possible. But if not, there are still always plenty of highlights (and middle fingers) to go around on Twitter. (I can't totally explain why really, but that amuses me -- it's like plenty of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin but with a totally opposite delivery.) BBM typically only has one or two sets per year with the only chases being variants and autographs ... so it's actually not super tough to collect stars from recent years.
Grab a box right here: WWE boxes can be found here

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CAPTURING THE MOMENT
The Card: Amanda Gorman 2020 Topps Now Election (/14,716)
The Price: Under $4
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This set sold a boatload of copies with cards for Lady Gaga, Garth Brooks and Jennifer Lopez in there along with a number of cards of the politicians, of course, but I grabbed this one on the cheap figuring she might not have a bunch of cards in the future as the others already do. Simple as that.
Grab a box right here: Non-sports boxes can be found here

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A DYNAMIC DUO
The Book: Marvel-verse Deadpool and Wolverine graphic novel
The Price: $9.99
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This graphic novel showcases a pair of the most-popular modern Marvel stars and I liked the approach with the panels in the background and the stars sitting atop them ... just a simple visual thing with this pick-up and the price was a lot lower than cover price as part of a small lot buy.
Grab a box right here: Marvel boxes can be found here

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BOXED-SET ROOKIE CARD
The Card: Jose Abreu 2014 Topps Heritage High Number -- Rookie Card
The Price: $4.49 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This former American League Rookie of the Year and MVP is quietly putting up numbers and is pretty cheap on all fronts. He's basically averaged/projected 31 homers and 110 RBI per 162 games for a decade while also hitting .292. He'll be 36 this year so this isn't some kind if longevity pick -- he's just good in the here and now and could be at 350 or 400 career homers in, say, about five years if all goes well. That's not bad considering his prime was spent in Cuba.
Grab a box right here: MLB boxes can be found here

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FROM A COLLECTION
The Items: Halle Berry assorted Catwoman lobby cards (with Benjamin Bratt & Sharon Stone cameos)
The Price: A few bucks in a bulk lot 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is another batch of lobby cards of a couple styles from the somewhat-forgettable Catwoman film. I landed them in a lot of Berry cards from throughout her career since the volume was good and the price wasn't bad considering the better-looking ones could have the potential for selling well on their own. These were literal pocket change apiece as part of the lot. Like promo photos, they're findable but since they're not super-plentiful like cards one can "name their price" a little more easily with values more in the eye of the beholder vs. what some others have paid for other like items. They're not big money-makers or anything but they are card-like and a lot of films (not this one) didn't have cards making stuff like this one of few collecting options.
Grab a box right here: Non-sports boxes can be found here

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LAYERED APPEAL?
The Cards: Howard The Duck 2020 Upper Deck Marvel Anime Stax (three cards)
The Price: About $2 for the trio
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This kind of insert set has been done before but it was never one I really dabbled with as, well, the execution doesn't always work out. This card here is actually three cards on acetate with parts of an overall image montage that comes together when you lay them on top of each other. If the cards are all cut the same then, yeah, it will all line up relatively well. This one was close but not that close. I was curious awhile back so I spent the pocket change to make this happen. Now what? I dunno ...
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REMEMBER THIS ONE?
The Card: Selma Blair 2008 PopCardz Series 1 Memorabilia
The Price: Under $3
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Remember this set? It was an odd one even back then but it's got a checklist that's totally loaded with good names now and it's one that, unlike this card, might make some good slabbing as long as you can avoid issues on those dark, ink-loaded corners. If I remember correctly, these mem cards were one per blaster box so that's why they're not all that pricey despite having some big names in play. I picked this up as a reminder that there's some oddball stuff out there that won't break the bank.
Grab a box right here: Non-sports boxes can be found here

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THREE-MAG MONTY
The Mags: Lita, Maria & Torrie Wilson -- WWE Raw Magazine and WWE Magazine issues 
The Price: About $7 apiece in a lot
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This trio of WWE mags was part of a lot where a couple that caught my eye for potential grading were in there. The Lita cover here isn't a first but it's a variant where I have others and was toying with the idea of slabbing all four. (But CGC mag grading is slow I've gotten nothing going on that front right now.) Meanwhile the Wilson cover is a spoof of sorts for a 1990s Jenny McCarthy Rolling Stone cover people might remember and that also might make for a decent slab.
Grab a box right here: WWE boxes can be found here

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DELETE! DELETE!
The Cards: Matt Hardy 2018 Topps WWE Then Now Forever Silver (/25) & Blue (/50) autographs
The Price: About $15 each 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This eclectic persona of Hardy was downright amusing on many fronts -- this is just a small hint -- and I ended up with two of the autos from this parallel rainbow kind of on accident while bargain hunting may moons ago. The Blue autos here are a favorite of mine and I'm sure I grabbed it first and then pounced on the Silver since it was cheaper later, having not realized I had the Blue.
Grab a box right here: WWE boxes can be found here

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PACKED WITH PROMO CARDS
The Items: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Wrestling All-Stars July 1999 -- bagged with Topps and Comic Images promo cards 
The Price: $15 (as part of a lot)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The price here was a little higher than I normally go but this one was still sealed in its original polybag with the Topps Kevin Nash promo and then two postcards also inside ... so curiosity got me. The mag itself has a cover so busy the seller couldn't even get the name right in the listing, which is probably how it ended up in my hands while doing a deep dive for stuff like this from the past. I probably should have left it sealed but ... I ripped it open for presentation here. Now you know one place where that promo card can be found.
Grab a box right here: WWE boxes can be found here

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TESTING THE WATERS ...
The Items: Mick Foley Hard Knocks & Cheap Pops, Trish Stratus 100% Stratusfaction Guaranteed & Before They Were WWE Superstars sealed VHS tapes
The Price: About $40 total (technically one was free)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is something I'm not intending to dabble in hard but I grabbed this trio of unopened and relatively clean VHS tapes for a potential grading angle. Why? VHS grading is a thing and I wanted to do one since one company had a holiday promotion with a pretty deep discount. One of these will be Making The Grade in April. I like movies but don't really consider myself a collector of them -- I'd actually be more prone to chase sealed DVDs and grade those as they are smaller and the cases would be easier to store -- but I figured if I was going there I'd go there with something in a genre I like and not something from the blockbuster film realm (like Star Wars) that most graders try. There's some big money out there in some stuff ... but it's also so low-volume that anything in a slab can have more of a name-your-price angle if slabbing to sell.
Grab a box right here: WWE boxes can be found here

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SIMPLE FLASH
The Card: Roger Maris 2021 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary Rose Gold Mini-Diamond Refractor (/75)
The Price: $10.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This parallel caught my attention when ripping a number of boxes here for Buzz Breaks with it having a kind of neutral color with some flash to it but not a look that's too overwhelming. Combine that with a clean and simple shot of this player I collect and, well, I couldn't pass on this one at this price/volume. This is a simple kind of card I'd totally grade, too.
Grab a box right here: MLB boxes can be found here

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HANK'S HISTORY
The Card: Hank Aaron 2018 Topps On Demand Black & White Historical Moment
The Price: $1.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I'm a sucker for Hank Aaron stuff from around his record-setting home run, especially when it's an affordable card. This one checks all of those boxes from a recent release that was released online and I never opened ... so singles are fresh to me.
Grab a box right here: MLB boxes can be found here

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THE JUMBO ROOKIE REPRINT
The Card: Bryce Harper 2016 Topps Archives 65th Anniversary Topps Online Exclusive 5-by-7 (/49)
The Price: $9.50
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I don't remember what exactly prompted me to grab this, but since it's a RC reprint with a pretty low serial-number that price was certainly right. Had it not been re-printing the Rookie Card? Probably would have passed.
Grab a box right here: MLB boxes can be found here

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FEELING BLUE
The Card: Nick Swisher 2005 Topps Cracker Jack Blue Mini parallel (/50)
The Price: $12
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This set is a favorite of mine but the parallels didn't flow all that well back in the day and my player was a lot more popular then ... so landing rarities like this happened well after the fact. Did I already have this? Maybe ... but if I didn't there was no doubt I couldn't pass up one more.
Grab a box right here: MLB boxes can be found here

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VARIANT APPEAL?
The Book: Howard The Duck No. 6 (2017)
The Price: $4
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is another one where, I don't know why I grabbed it while poking around in comics boxes ... it's not even a showcase of the title character as this is Squirrel Girl, which is a character I don't know much about at all. Maybe there was probably some rumor about the character showing up somewhere that got me curious ... but clearly that nugget didn't stick in my memory. If you made it this far, this one here is known as a filler item -- a Marvel No Prize is heading your way.
Grab a box right here: Non-sports boxes can be found here

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